Online content storage is becoming more popular. People frequently store, access, or otherwise interact with content stored at online content management systems. Documents, pictures, music, videos, directories, folders, and other types of content items can be stored at online content management systems to be accessed by users of the online content management systems.
In some cases, a user of an online content management system can store a collection(s) of content items at the user's account with the online content management system. In other words, the user can be the “owner” of the collection(s) of content items. In some embodiments, a collection of content items can include (but is not limited to) a file, a directory, a document within a directory, a photo album, a media playlist, data, etc.
In one example, the user (i.e., owner) can decide to preview a content item. The user can use a web browsing application to navigate to a web interface provided by the online content management system. The user can interact with the web interface, such as by performing a mouse click on a clickable element, to cause the content management system to provide a preview of the content item. The user can then preview the content item provided by the content management system via the web browsing application.
Continuing with the example, the user can decide that he wants to share the content item with other users. In the web browsing application used to preview the content item, there can be a web address provided along with the preview for the content item. The user might attempt to share this web address with other users. However, in conventional approaches, the web address provided with the preview cannot grant access to the content item for other users (e.g., “recipient users,” “recipients”). As such, this can be inconvenient or troublesome to the user. This and other concerns can create challenges for the overall user experience associated with previewing and sharing content via the online content management system.